Odd experience with my .303 Brit

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38splpete posted this 12 hours ago

I went to the range with my W.W.II Canadian Enfield and 20 rounds—10 rds loaded with the Lyman 314299 bullet and 18g of 4227; 10rds loaded with the same bullet and 13g Red Dot.  At 50 yds the 4227 load shot very well—9 shots in about 1”; one flyer opened the group to about 2 1/2”.  The Red Dot group was very erratic to say the least- only eight shots on paper and they all went through sideways!  Not sure if the bullets were from the same batch and the two loads had been loaded at different times—the Red Dot load in 2022 and the 4227 load in 2024. In both loads the bullets were sized .314.  This gun has always been a reliable performer for me until I tried Red Dot.  Needless to say, Red Dot will henceforth be used only in pistol loads, but if anyone has an idea about what happened, I’d like to hear it.

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Wilderness posted this 10 hours ago

Alloy? Rifling form - two grooves or five? With gas check? Velocity? Is that bullet weight a bit much for the 13 gn load ("the load")? Lyman shows 13 gns as Max for that bullet.

Wild shooting and keyholes are typical of what some of our fellows have experienced when first trying commercial cast bullets, without gas checks, and with jacketed bullet powder loads.

I have used 10 gns Red Dot in .30-30 with hard #311576HP (112 gns with gas check). Velocity 1800 fps and good group, but wouldn't like to push it any harder. Red Dot can be very good with .32-20 bullets in .30-30 (or .303) at subsonic velocities. Red Dot load for .303 for subsonic .32-20 bullets would be in the 5 - 6 gn range.

I used to shoot rabbits with a No.1 Mk III* 303 with soft bullets from a WRACo .32-20 mould and 6 gns Sporting Ballistite (shotgun powder). Sight setting was 425 yards.

You are only as good as your library.

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JeffinNZ posted this 9 hours ago

My guess is the Red Dot load has exceeded the pressure limits of your allow.

Cheers from New Zealand

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Mike H posted this 16 minutes ago

Agree with JeffinNZ, start again with 8 to 10 grs of Red Dot and see what happens.I have used 12 grs of Shotgun Ballistite powder with 180 gr gás check bullet.My preference today is for more powerfull loads for ranges up to 300 metres using H4895 or similar burning rate powders.

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